http://www.nationalreview.com/node/419420/print Rand Paul’s Faux-Libertarian Opposition to the Patriot Act
By Andrew C. McCarthy — June 6, 2015
At Powerline this week, Steve Hayward penned a post aptly entitled “The Insincerity of Rand Paul.” The senator’s legal arguments against the Patriot Act, he posits, mimic papa Ron Paul’s 2003 calls for a formal declaration of war against Iraq: mere “constitutional punctilio to cover his real feelings.”
Steve is right. Congress statutorily authorized the use of military force in Iraq. Nothing more was constitutionally required. The real reason for Representative Ron Paul’s formalistic nattering about a declaration of war was his opposition to American intervention in Iraq. That, in turn, was driven by his theory that it was American national defense policies that cause anti-U.S. animus.
Senator Rand Paul’s overwrought constitutional claims against the Patriot Act similarly camouflage his real objection: He is anti-government even with respect to national security, one of the few things for which we actually need the federal government.
I use the term “anti-government” advisedly. Paul is generously portrayed as a libertarian. In an age of unprecedented government intrusion into (formerly) private life, Paul has made inroads with conservatives because we believe in limited government. Yet, while conservatives are wary in any context of government’s corruptive propensities, we are not anti-government.
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